Exotic Foods around the Philippines

Filipinos are lovers of great food.In general, Filipinos love to eat – they eat 3 to 5 times a day. There’s always breakfast, lunch and dinner, and two meals in between. Filipinos also love to invent new dishes.However there are exotic foods prepared just around the corner and i prepared it specially for you.So what's your order?.

BALUT

What It Is - The notorious boiled fertilized duck's egg. Duck's egg usually takes 28 days to hatch but the perfect balut is boiled at 17 days, when the chick is still wrapped in white and showing no beak or feathers.There is an art to eating balut. First, make sure it's hot. hold up the egg and determine the wider end; lightly tapping it here will allow you to savor the balut's tasty broth. Break off a piece of eggshell and then take a sip - you may want to salt it before doing so. Once all the soup has been sipped, crack the rest of the egg, peel it open and sprinkle it with rock salt. The yolk is firm yet tender and the chick should go down smooth and sweet. Said to be an aphrodisiac, balut is traditionally sold by vendors who do their rounds on the streets peddling the eggs in baskets in the evening, bellowing, "Baluuuuuuuut!" The menfolk like to gather at street corner sari-sari stores with their bottles of beer or gin and balut as pulutan (bar chow), spending many a happy happy hour.

TAMILOK

What It Is - Woodworm found in driftwoods.
Where You'll Find It - Palawan and Surigao.

Tamilok is not for the squeamish nor the faint of heart. The experience of eating it is more risque than eating sushi. Forget raw; these worms are eaten alive! The driftwood is chopped so you are able to extract pink juicy worms measuring six to eight inches long. The worms are then washed then dropped onto the tounge. Fans love the clean taste and the tingling sensation through the digestive tract.

BETUTE TUGAK

What It Is - Stuffed frog
Where You'll find It - Pampanga
Farmers used to depend on rain water to irrigater their farms. Children would then catch the frogs, which came out during the rainy season, while their parents cultivated the land or planted rice. Outwitting the frogs has been a traditional "family bonding" ritual. Betute is a play of words on butete, which means "tadpole" in the local dialect. Betute is the entire frog stuffed with minced pork - so it looks like a very fat frog. It is then deep-fried in oil.

ANT EGGS

What They Are - The eggs of tree ants
Where You'll Find Them - Ilocos Norte

Known as the caviar of Ilocos' wealthy set, they are found on the branches of certain mango trees where these ants make their homes. You need an expert who can detect them from under the trees branches. Gathering them requires a light hand and fleet feet as the sound of foot steps makes these ants hide their eggs. Flat baskets are attached under the branches and the tree is shaken vigorously until the eggs fall into the baskets. These are fried in butter. the result: A crisp shell on th outside and creamy filling on the inside.

PANIKI

What It Is - A fruit bat that feeds on over-ripe lanzones, jackfruit, durian and other tree fruit.

Where You'll Find It - The Philippines has over 50 species of fruit bats found throughout the country, including Subic, tha Samal Caves in Davao and San Juan, Batangas

To prepare it for cooking, the entire bat is skinned, and the two glands found at the base of its limbs are removed. It is then chopped into bite-sized pieces, sauteed in oil, garlic, vinegar, tomatoes, pepper, laurel leaves and simmered until the broth has almost dried out. Although some Filipinos consider these fruit bats a delicacy, eating them must be stopped since many bat species are close to becoming endangered. These fruit bats play an important role as they help to maintain the biodiversity of the Philippines' ecological system by propagating fruit-bearing trees.

KAMARO

What It Is - A mole cricket that burrows in the moist soil of growing rice fields.

Where You'll Find It - Pampanga
Dish On The Dish - These mole crickets are the most delicious pulutan in Pampanga, a foodie province known for delicious dishes, the country's best cooks and most discriminating gourmands. The kamaro catchers stomp their bare feet on the soil to make the crickets surface, causing them to jump and fly awkwardly, making them easy to catch. cooking them is even more laborious. The cricket's legs and wings must be removed, after which the body is boiled in vinegar and garlic. It is then sauteed in oil, chopped oinion and tomatoes until they are chocolate brown in color. Kamaro is a party in your mouth with every bite: the initial crunch gives way to a moist interior, making it a perfect pairing with ice-cold beer. Without the wings and legs, there is no scratchy texture.

RAT

What It Is - They are rats found in rice fields.

Well they are just eating them, but making money off the rodent's newfound popularity among diners. These rats are caught from their rice fields or the countryside which are clean compared to their dirty rodents in squalid towns and big bad cities.

The rats are grilled and sold them to people who have a non-conventional culinary taste. Among the recipes being served include rat stew, rat with rice, grilled rat and poached rat.

Crocodile

What They Are - Crocodile Meat
Where You'll Find Them - Davao City(Riverwalk Grill)

The Menu says it all, and they said it's so tasty and more delicious than chicken and other meat that we usually eat. Crocodile meat is low in fat and high in protein and is best cooked in the same manner as lean pork or chicken.

Be a Smart Traveler

About us

Jess & Eric

Hey there! We're Jess & Eric, the couple travelers behind this blog since 2010. We've been traveling for the past 9 years and in 2017, we put a little twist on our adventure and that's to climb some of the highest peak or mountain in every country we visited. Last 2017, We reached the top of Mt. Fuji in Japan ( 3776 masl) and the summit of Mt. Jade in Taiwan ( 3952 masl) .